Kept By The Mountain Man (Montana Mountain Men Book 3)

by Gemma Weir

  I have a plan for my life. I don’t get involved. I don’t attempt to make friends. I don’t engage. Ever. For the last five years this plan has worked perfectly. I’ve moved around with the seasons, I have zero attachments that feel obligated to like me. I haven’t gotten hurt or been judged by anyone for being clingy and pathetic.

  My life is simple and pain free, just how I like it. Yet in the span of a day, everything has been thrown into chaos and I think it might be all my own fault.

  Granger places a piece of cherry pie and a huge scoop full of whipped cream onto my plate while I accept a beer from one of his brothers, the one who is so close to Cora I wouldn’t be surprise to find out he’s half sitting on her chair.

  As I eat, I watch with almost morbid curiosity as this family interact with each other. They’re nothing like my family, not even back in the good days before Serenity left me behind so she could get on with her own life and be happy.

  There’s a playfulness between them, even the girls, that’s odd. I think I was about ten the last time I sat down to dinner with my mom, her boyfriend of the moment, my sister and me, and the meal wasn’t homecooked, it was probably microwaved Hungryman dinners in front of the tv. We certainly didn’t sit and talk, or laugh, or tease one another.

  For a moment as I watch them, I wonder if it’s this family or my family that are the odd ones out. Is this how normal families work, and mine was just always disconnected because of me? Or are the Barnett’s the strange ones, and normal families avoid conversation and each other in almost equal parts?

  Granger wants me to engage, but I feel like I’m watching a nature show as I eat my pie and observe the Barnett’s in their natural environment. When I’m finished, and Cora has somehow managed to consume an entire custard pie without sharing even a single bite with Huck or anyone else, everyone moves at once. The guys clear the table as Bonnie appears at one of my shoulders and Cora at the other. They coax me away from the table and sit me between them on the couch before I’m even aware of what’s happening and I just go with it, too overwhelmed by all these crazy people to even argue or attempt to flee.

  “Okay, so we have some time while the guys clean up,” Bonnie says quietly. “Are you okay? Has Granger gone full blown caveman? Do you need an escape plan?”

  “I…”

  “We know what they’re like,” Cora says conspiratorially. “We’ve both dealt with the crazy, so we just want to know he’s not doing anything too insane. Like kidnapping you, or anything.”

  “Is kidnapping likely?” I ask cautiously.

  “No… well probably not. I mean Huck sort of kidnapped me, but only after we were already together and I was pregnant,” Cora says, waving her confession away because apparently kidnapping really is an option with this family.

  “Ignore her,” Bonnie says, pushing Cora in the shoulder and scowling at her. “Beau never tried to kidnap me, that’s a Huck thing not a Barnett thing.”

  “Beau just turned up one day and refused to leave, so much better,” Cora rolls her eyes.

  “Okay I wasn’t that freaked out, but now I think I might need that escape route,” I tell the women.

  Sighing, Bonnie takes a long sip of her beer. “We’re doing a really shitty job of explaining things. The guys aren’t dangerous crazy, they’re just crazy intense. I one hundred percent promise you that Granger will never, ever physically hurt you. He might smother you with caveman attention and affection, there’s every chance he’ll drive you to absolute distraction, but he’ll never intentionally hurt you.”

  “Look, I’m not sure what you think is going on here, but I’m only staying for the weekend, and only because my RV is out of action and you guys have this festival thing in town. Granger seems like a nice guy, but I’m not looking for a boyfriend.”

  “That kiss he planted on you didn’t seem like something you do to someone who is leaving in a couple of days,” Cora smirks.

  “It’s just a bit of fun while I’m in town. Granger explained the whole obsession at first sight thing, but I’ll tell you, like I told him, I’m not his anything. Maybe with you pair it worked out, but I’m not the girl guys see forever with. Maybe his girl was standing behind me, or passing in a car when he glanced my way and that’s why he’s gotten all mixed up. But I don’t do permanent, I don’t do commitment, and I definitely don’t do some fabled happy ever after. Honestly, saying yes to this weekend was a stretch for me and I’m already anticipating he’ll be ready to pretend he’s never met me by tomorrow night,” I tell them both.

  Jaws slack, they both stare at me, then simultaneously burst into laughter.

  Rolling my eyes at their amusement, I make to stand up only to have them clamp down on me, one on each arm. “We’re sorry,” Bonnie laughs. “It’s just that we know what they’re like and we know that there is no way Granger’s going to let you go. You might think he’s joking, or mistaken about you being his, but he believes it down to his core. Beau had been coming into the coffee shop I work in every morning and night for a year and he barely spoke to me, then one day he told me I was his and kissed the hell out of me. After that he wouldn’t leave me alone, he turned up at my house, invited himself to dinner, literally carried me to where ever he wanted me over his shoulder when I refused to do what he wanted and sexed me into submission. I tried to fight it, I denied my feelings for him, denied his feelings for me. I even went out on a date with another guy, but he was so single mindedly sure that I was his it was futile to fight him.”

  “Huck decided I needed someone to look after me after I got a little drunk on a girls’ night out. He literally let himself into my apartment and then refused to leave. Then he made it his mission to give me so many orgasms that I was in a cum drunk haze as he fucked me until he got me pregnant,” Cora says, her lips pursed, her eyebrow arched.

  “Wow,” I whisper. “Do you guys need some help? I’m sure there’s agencies to get women out of these kinds of situations,” I tell them quietly, surreptitiously glancing around to check none of the guys are listening to us.

  Both women smile widely at me. “I have a shotgun that I’m really good at using, if I didn’t want to be here, I wouldn’t,” Bonnie says softly. “Beau might be intense, he might be over the top, jealous and protective. But I love him and he’s mine as much as I’m his.”

  “Yeah, and my brother’s the deputy sheriff,” Cora giggles. “Huck is not allowed near my birth control ever again, but I don’t work without him, him and our baby are my world.” Her hands cradle her pregnant belly and she smiles happily.

  “Look, I know you guys think you need to be nice to me but you really don’t. I know who I am and I’m aware of my issues, and Granger will see he was wrong about me, probably much quicker than I’d like. Deep down, I know I shouldn’t take advantage of him and allow us to be physical, but it’s been a long time for me and he’s hot, so I’m going to enjoy it while it lasts and then on Monday, I’ll leave.”

  A mix of confusion and sadness crosses the women’s faces and I can see that they’re planning their next arguments, so I stand, smiling. “Thanks for the chat, it’s been a long day so I’m gonna go to bed.”

  I walk away before they can say anything, not meeting anyone’s eyes as I escape into the guest room, happy to be alone when I close the door behind me. There isn’t a lock, but I wish there was and for a moment I consider grabbing my bag and climbing out the window. If I wasn’t in the middle of nowhere half way up a mountain in Montana in the winter, I probably would. But I know wandering around in the dark when I have no idea how long it would take me to walk back to my RV and no way of leaving even if I could get to it, isn’t a good idea.

  The desire to call my sister and ask her to fix this hits me so fast and hard it takes my breath away. I haven’t allowed myself to think of her as my savior since the day she left, and I won’t let a man and his very consuming family push me back down that painful path either.

  Saying yes to this weekend with Granger was a mis
take, I’m already too involved with him and I need to stop this train careening downhill before I end up smashed to pieces at the bottom.

  The door pushes open and Granger strides in without bothering to knock or wait for my permission to enter.

  “Alice, honey, you okay?”

  “I’m tired, I’m going to go to sleep.”

  “Grab your stuff and we can go to my room.”

  “No, I changed my mind, I know this is your house, but I think you should go.”

  “No,” he says, ignoring my words as he marches toward me, closing the distance between us in an instance.

  “You can’t just say no,” I tell him, backing away and refusing to look at him, because somehow I know I’ll weaken if I look into his eyes.

  “What’s happened? What did the girls say to you?” he demands, his tone harsher than I’ve heard from him before, my panties dampening at how sexy he is when he’s bossy and growling.

  “Nothing, they’re just all on board with this mystical insta-lust thing you think you feel for me.”

  “There’s nothing mystical about it, Alice. I’m not some fucking idiot, I know who you are.”

  “That’s the thing, Granger, you don’t know me and I don’t know you, because we met today.” I roll my eyes and turn away from him.

  His hands wrap around my waist and I’m spun around to face him. I look up before I can remind myself not to, and immediately get lost in the intensity and need in his eyes. I should be stronger than this, I’ve got five years of immunity to people, but a day with him and all of my defenses have shattered to smithereens around his feet, that’s how affected I am by him.

  “You’ve had your say, now it’s time for you to shut the hell up and listen to me for a minute.”

  Swallowing thickly, I part my lips to speak, but he covers my mouth with his hand, literally silencing me. “I said it’s time for you to listen to me, you understand? Nod if you get me.”

  I nod and he slowly lifts his palm, cupping my jaw instead, holding me still beneath his touch. “I have never claimed a woman in my life. I’ve fucked, I’ve enjoyed, but I’ve never claimed, never even been tempted until you.”

  His hold on my face softens a little, and he runs the pad of his thumb over my cheek as he smiles down at me. “I’m thirty-five years old, I’m a man, not some pup with a hard dick, full of false promises and a big game with no follow through. When I say you’re mine, it’s because you are. When I tell you I’m gonna fill you with my dick and own every fucking inch of you, it’s because I’m going to and you’re gonna beg for it. When I say I know you, it’s because I do. I know who you are on the most basic level where a man fundamentally knows his woman by sight and sense and smell. I might not know the everyday stuff like what you like on your pancakes, or if you’re a morning person, but what I know about you is much more important because it’s instinctual, going all the way back to when humans were nothing more than caveman. I know you, because you belong to me, and unless you can look me in the face and tell me with complete honesty that you don’t feel the same way, I’m gonna take you to my room, strip you naked and make you mine in the most primal way a man can claim a woman.”

  Waiting expectantly, his eyes pierce me, daring me to argue, to lie to him, because somehow, we both know there’s no way I could tell him with sincerity that I don’t understand what he’s saying on some level, but I still need to do something. “This is a mistake.”

  “Nothing about us could ever be a mistake,” he croons, his eyes softening.

  “We shouldn’t do this, it’ll only end up with pain,” I warn, hating how sad I sound.

  “Honey, tonight’s gonna end with you screaming my name while I pound your cunt full of my cum. Any pain I give you, you’re gonna have to beg for, but by the time you wake up in the morning, you’re never going to question how well I know you again.”

  Releasing my face, his hands go to my hips again and he lifts me, encouraging me to wrap my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. He doesn’t give me a moment to question him before he’s moving, carrying me out of the guest room and into his own, where he lowers me to the floor and begins to kiss me as his fingers find the hem of my shirt, peeling it up and over my head, only releasing my lips when he drags the fabric off me and drops it to the floor. His mouth finds mine again and somehow, he undresses me without ever stopping kissing me until I’m naked, cool air coating my bare nipples and pussy.

  Finally pulling his lips from mine, he separates us as he looks down at me, taking me in, while I squirm beneath his appraising gaze.

  “Undress me,” he orders.

  Tentatively, I reach out and wrap my fingers around the hem of his shirt, slowly pulling it upwards, revealing his firm abs and torso, a smattering of dark hair covers the top of his chest and moves down to his happy trail. His arms are thick, tight with muscle and there’s a tattoo covering his right pec, a beautiful tree with the roots stretching out wider than the branches. It’s gorgeous and I lift my hand and stroke my fingers across it, while Granger watches me with heat filled eyes.

  “Take off my pants,” he rasps, his voice losing its cadence, nothing more than need and want now.

  My hands feel unsteady as I feed the button of his jeans through the hole then slowly pull down the zipper, gasping when his dick pops free, bursting out of the tight confines of his pants as I start to push them down over his butt and hips until they pool on the floor at his feet.

  Stepping out of my own pants that I hadn’t realized were around my feet, I bend down and push off his shoes and socks as he steps free, and then we’re both naked, strangers bought together by his unrelenting belief that somehow we’re meant for each other. If I was a different person, I’d stop him. If I was better, I’d warn him I’m toxic, that I’m a drain, but I want to be wanted by him. For once I want someone to fight for me, and since I met him he’s done that. He’s taken all my objections and squashed them, he’s refused to let me distance myself, he’s bought me into his home, into his family and told me that I’m his.

  It’s been so long since I’ve been wanted, and right now this man wants me and I’m not strong enough to resist.

  8

  Granger

  She’s standing in front of me naked, willing and giving herself to me. She’s perfect, and when I reach for her, I know I’ll never be able to give her up. Her skin’s warm, despite her nipples being pebbled as I hold her against my chest. Cradling her jaw in my palm, I lead her lips to mine, claiming her mouth the moment she’s close enough. She doesn’t resist, it’s like now she’s made the decision to do this, all of her reservations and fight has gone and in its place is this giving innocence that has my inner caveman screaming with the need to consume her.

  Tentative hands find my chest and she explores my skin, her fingers brushing over the tattoo on my chest like she thinks she’ll be able to feel the bark of the tree as if it were real. I reach out and cup her breast, it’s the perfect handful, perky with a tight, high nipple that’s begging to be sucked.

  Unable to resist I lean down and pull the tip into my mouth, sucking hard to see how she reacts. Her head falls back and she moans, long and low, so I run my teeth over the taut peak, almost groaning myself when the hint of pain has her shuddering with delight.

  Releasing her breast, I slide my hands beneath her butt and lift her from the ground. Her legs immediately wrap around my hips and my dick finds her pussy, eager to slide into her heat. If this wasn’t the first time I’d taken her, I’d feed her onto my cock, slam her back against the wall and fuck her like this with her clinging to me, her moans against my ear. But not this time. This time I want her in my bed, spread out like an offering, where I can touch and lick and devour all of her.

  Carrying her to the bed, I put my knee on the mattress and crawl onto it, not letting her go as I lower her to the comforter, immediately caging her in with my elbows on either side of her head.

  “Mine,” I whisper as I kiss her, pushin
g my tongue into her mouth as she tightens her legs around my waist, not letting me go. I already know what her cunt tastes like, so I keep my lips on hers and instead push my hand between us, my fingers easily sliding into her soaking sex.

  She’s tight, but I don’t feel any resistance, and at twenty-three I’d be surprised if she was still a virgin. Scissoring my fingers, I push them deeper, searching for her g-spot, wanting to make her come before I take her for the first time.

  I don’t release her mouth, fucking her cunt with my fingers as I own her mouth with my tongue. Her hands cling to me, her fingernails digging into my shoulders as her hips grind and she rides my hand, chasing down an orgasm, until I feel her muscles clench, then a gasping moan vibrates against my mouth and tremors wrack her body.

  Not giving her time to think, I pull my fingers free and guide my cock to her entrance, releasing her mouth so I can watch her expression as I slide into her for the first time. Despite stretching her with my fingers, she’s so tight I worry for a moment that I won’t fit. After I slide in an inch, I pull out, coating the head of my cock with her arousal, then push in again, sliding in a little further with each thrust.

  Her eyes are molten, her lips kiss swollen, her chest heaving as she pants and lifts her hips a little higher off the bed, opening herself up to allow my dick to fill her completely.

  “You okay?” I ask, when each rise and fall of her breath is accompanied by a tiny gasp.

  She nods. “You’re big.”

  “I fit perfect, your cunt’s clinging to me, I can barely move,” I rasp, pressing a kiss to the side of her mouth, then her neck as I tentatively roll my hips, half thrusting, half grinding, giving her body time to adjust.

  “Oh god,” she moans, her eyes falling closed as she arches her neck, tipping her head back.